Chapter 3 - The Family Dinner
The lie hung in the air like poison.
Emma stared at Adrian in sheer panic.
Cole's voice cracked through the speaker.
"What the hell are you talking about, Adrian?"
Adrian leaned back against his seat.
"I am talking about the fact that you threw away a diamond to pick up a rock, little brother."
He ended the call before Cole could respond.
He tossed the phone back into Emma's lap.
"Why did you do that?" Emma screamed.
Adrian started the car engine again.
"Because now he is afraid," Adrian stated simply.
"You just ruined my reputation!" she cried.
Adrian pulled the car back onto the highway.
"Your reputation was already ruined the moment Tessa walked out of that hotel room," he said coldly.
Emma knew he was right.
Tessa always played the victim perfectly.
By the time Emma got home, her parents would already have a twisted version of the story.
"Take me to my parents' house," Emma demanded.
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" he asked.
"They are my family," she insisted fiercely.
Adrian did not argue.
He drove her to the quiet suburban neighborhood where she had grown up.
He parked the black sedan in front of the familiar white picket fence.
Emma got out of the car without looking back.
She walked up the porch steps and opened the front door.
The living room was completely silent.
Her mother and father were sitting on the sofa.
Tessa was sitting in an armchair, crying softly into a tissue.
Emma felt her stomach violently twist.
"Mom? Dad?" Emma started to speak.
Her mother stood up with a furious expression.
"How could you be so cruel to your sister?" her mother shouted.
Emma froze in her tracks.
"Cruel to her?" Emma repeated in disbelief.
"Tessa told us everything," her father added sternly.
He pointed a finger at Emma.
"She told us that you forced Cole into this engagement because you knew he loved Tessa first."
Emma felt the room spinning.
Tessa looked up from her tissue.
There was no remorse in Tessa's eyes, only triumph.
"I'm sorry, Emma," Tessa whispered beautifully. "But true love cannot be hidden."
Emma realized she had no family left.
She was completely alone.
Then, the front door swung wide open.
Adrian Marston stepped into the living room.
He did not wait for an invitation.
He walked past Emma's shocked parents and dropped a piece of paper on the coffee table.
It was a bank check for five million dollars.
"That is for the inconvenience of canceling the wedding," Adrian said smoothly.
May you like
He turned and wrapped his arm possessively around Emma's waist.
"Because Emma will be marrying me on Saturday instead."
